Football
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Ryan Sproule
September 19, 2016
At Central Catholic High School, Ryan Sproule may be best remembered for his contributions to the Vikings in capturing the 2015 WPIAL baseball championship, the first in team history. It was on the pitch, though, that Sproule continued his athletic career Washington University in St. Louis. Just a sophomore in college, Sproule already is one of the top performers on his team. As such, he's featured on this week's installment of WPIAL Alum Q&A.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 09/18/2016
September 18, 2016
We officially welcome the 2016 Autumn season with another busy week of fall high school sports here on the MSA Sports Network. The high school football season moves to Week Four and The Network has 29 WPIAL football weekend contests starting with the MSA Sports pregame Show Friday at 6pm and concluding with the WPIAL Scoreboard Show at 9:30pm.2016 WPIAL Football Standings – 09/18
Here are the latest WPIAL football standings through Saturday of Week Three of the 2016 high school football season. Once again this year, we have added points for and points against as well as the updated WPIAL tiebreaker points for all 122 WPIAL teams. Standings are updated after Friday and Saturday's scholastic gridiron action each week. Click on each team to see all of their results along with their remaining schedule for the 2016 season. (Top 4 teams from both conferences in 6-A, 5-A and 4-A qualify for the playoffs) (Top 2 teams from the three conferences in 3-A along with two third place wild cards qualify for the playoffs) (Top 5 teams from the three conference in 2-A and 1-A along with one sixth place wild card qualify for the playoffs)MSA Sports Saturdays Scholastic Starz for Week Three
September 17, 2016
It's sort of like digging out your telescope from the deep, dark crevices of your upstairs closet, dusting it off, setting it up and then...nothing but clouds. But wait, off in the distance is that one shining star. That was the case Saturday of Week Three with only one high school football game on the WPIAL gridiron slate. here is out brief salute to our Saturday Scholastic Standout. Tyler Bradley - Our Lady of the Sacred HeartWPIAL Football Score for Sat 9/17
The band Three Dog Night once sang "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do," from their hit song simply titled One. That summed up the Saturday high school football schedule for the WPIAL in Week Three. With 60 contests played in the district Friday, that left only a Class 1-A Big 7 Conference tilt as the only game in town. You can hear the archived broadcast here on The Network. Here is the final result. WPIAL CLASS 1-A Big 7 Conference: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 49 - Western Beaver Golden Beavers 6 (MSA)MSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Three
Every Friday night, there are hard decisions to make to whittle down many of the great performances from around the WPIAL into our Top Ten HighLights package. But this Friday night was probably the toughest since it was the busiest night game wise of the entire 2016 season. Of the possible 61 WPIAL football games, 60 were played on 9/16, thus the difficult becomes even more so. Here's what we came up with on a pleasant evening weather wise for the Week Three HighLights. Jordan Crawford - Pine-RichlandScholastic Notebook – 09/16/2016
September 16, 2016
Fewer than 20 runners in WPIAL history have rushed for 5,000 yards in their career. But no one on the 5,000-yard list runs the football quite like Clairton’s Lamont Wade. He averages a first down every time he touches the ball. Wade went over 5,000 yards last week against Springdale. He now has 5,062 yards on 460 attempts. Before you go to your calculator, that’s 11.0 yards a carry. That’s phenomenal when you consider that is the highest yards-per-carry average of anyone who has gained 5,000 yards. The next best is Beth-Center’s Anthony Welsh, who finished his career a year ago with a 10.4 average. In two games so far this year, Wade is above his career average. He has 351 yards on 16 carries. That’s a whopping 16.7-yard average.Chicks Picks for Week Three
September 15, 2016
Welcome to Week 3 of the high school football season. Chick’s Picks heard a rumor recently that The Fumbler was running for office. Office of what, she was not quite sure, since WPIAL prognosticating and politics seem to be a far cry from one another. Nonetheless, Chick’s Picks wanted to offer her support to her fellow prognosticator.Big Game Hunting for Week Three 2016
September 14, 2016
In my time doing Big Game Hunting I cannot recall any other regular season week in which the top games were so obvious. Week three has it all, consistent Top-Ten battles across five of the six classifications, the two leading passers in the WPIAL, the leading rusher and scorer in the WPIAL, and three of the top six receivers in the WPIAL. All of this saves me the trouble of having to come up with an engaging and interesting opening paragraph, and let’s be honest I was only hitting about .250 at that to begin with so, without further ado, let’s go Big Game Hunting!MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Football – 09/12/2016
September 12, 2016
Each and every Monday during the regular season, the MSA Sports Network will rank the Top Ten seven in 6-A and top ten football teams in each of the other five classifications...including another NEW #1 team in Class 3-A. Here are the rankings following Week Two of the 2016 high school football season. WPIAL CLASS 6-A WPIAL FOOTBALL TOP SEVEN: 1. PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC VIKINGS (2-1) (Last Week #1.....Week Three - host #4 Hempfield on MSA) 2. PINE-RICHLAND RAMS (2-1) (Last Week #2.....Week Three - at #3 Penn Hills on MSA)
WPIAL Alum Q&A – Ryan Lewis
In high school, Ryan Lewis starred in two different sports at two different schools. His somewhat unorthodox path, though, led him to Robert Morris University, where he's now a standout on the Colonials' defensive line. Lewis is this week's spotlight for the WPIAL Alum Q&A. As a sophomore and junior in high school, Lewis was a standout for North Catholic. As a 6-foot-5, 200-plus pound receiver, he was a matchup nightmare for opponents. Likewise, he wreaked havoc on the defensive side, where he had 18 sacks and 100 tackles in his junior campaign. The Trojans finished 7-4 that season, making it to the Class A quarterfinals.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 09/11/2016
September 11, 2016
It's another busy week of fall high school sports here on the MSA Sports Network. The high school football season moves to Week Three and The Network has 28 WPIAL football weekend contests starting with the MSA Sports pregame Show Friday at 6pm and concluding with the WPIAL Scoreboard Show at 9:30pm. We also have six District 6 and District 9 high school football games, WPIAL girls soccer and WPIAL girls volleyball, College soccer and volleyball featuring Carlow University, plus the debut of the MSA Sports Hometown Girls Volleyball Show and another great edition of Rappin' on Racin' ALL here at MSAsports.netMSA Sports Saturdays Scholastic Starz for Week Two
Any coach will tell you, versatility in a football player is huge. If you can play various positions at a high level in all three aspects of the game, that is a very good thing. Especially in Class 1-A where rosters sizes are small and the demand for versatility is not only appreciated, but needed. Here are the top five stand out performances from a gusty Saturday afternoon in Week Two as the play of these guys 'blew away' their opponents. Kenny Robinson - Imani Christian2016 WPIAL Football Standings – 09/11
Here are the latest WPIAL football standings through Week One of the 2016 high school football season. Once again this year, we have added points for and points against as well as the updated WPIAL tiebreaker points for all 122 WPIAL teams. Standings are updated after Friday and Saturday's scholastic gridiron action each week. (Top 4 teams from both conferences in 6-A, 5-A and 4-A qualify for the playoffs) (Top 2 teams from the three conferences in 3-A along with two third place wild cards qualify for the playoffs) (Top 5 teams from the three conference in 2-A and 1-A along with one sixth place wild card qualify for the playoffs) # = Clinched Section Title * = Clinched Playoff Berth x = Eliminated From Playoff ChaseMSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Two
September 10, 2016
It was wet...it was wild...and depending on what sideline you were on, it was a wonderful Friday night of high school football...and we are only in Week Two. A long winning streak stretching over parts of seven years came to a sudden halt...a long losing streak came within inches of ending...and depending on what part of Western Pennsylvania you were watching your favorite team, you either had to deal with a pregame sprinkle or a mid-game downpour. Oh yeah, there were these gems that provided the icing on a very delicious scholastic football cake. Phil Jurkovec - Pine-RichlandWPIAL Football Scores for Sat 9/10
For a second straight Saturday, the WPIAL focus was on Class 1-A as we wound down a wild and crazy Week Two. There were three afternoon conference contests and a pair of non-conference matchups, one of which included a Class 2-A team sliding into the Saturday schedule mix under the lights to cap off the weekend. Here are all of the results. WPIAL CLASS 1-A Big 7 Conference: Western Beaver Golden Beavers 34 - Cornell Raiders 0 (MSA) Rochester Rams 42 - Summit Academy Knights 18 WPIAL CLASS 1-A Eastern Conference: Imani Christian Saints 30 - Riverview Raiders 21 WPIAL CLASS 2-A vs CLASS 1-A Non-Conference:Scholastic Notebook – 09/09/2016
September 9, 2016
Pine-Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec has been all the rage of dual-threat quarterbacks in the WPIAL the past two seasons. Jurkovec has gotten many props and loads of publicity – rightly so – for his ability to throw and run. But up north at small Neshannock High School, there is another quarterback doing big things running and passing. Frankly speaking, he could finish with statistics you don’t see often from WPIAL quarterbacks.WPIAL and City League Football Scores for 9/9
Now that everybody dipped their toes into the WPIAL football season pool at least once this year, our first Friday night of weather issues came into play. Rain, some very heavy, affected most of the action in Western Pennsylvania, especially south of the City of Pittsburgh. Check out all of the final results from a wild Friday night in Week Two. WPIAL CLASS 6-A Northern Seven Conference: Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 55 - North Allegheny Tigers 14 (F) Pine-Richland Rams 51 - Seneca Valley Raiders 20 (F) WPIAL CLASS 6-A Southeastern Conference: Hempfield Spartans 41 - Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 38 (F)Chicks Picks for Week Two
September 8, 2016
Welcome to Week 2 of the high school football season. Chick’s Picks has been fortunate enough to make a lot of friends throughout her prognosticating career – some that are unforgettable, and others that she cares to forget. One of Chick’s Picks’ favorites happens to be a very dear Twitter pal, who happens to be the better half of a local coach. This Twitter pal in particular has stood by Chick’s Picks through good times and bad – weeks when the crystal ball was on fire, as well as weeks when early retirement was considered. Earlier this season, during Week Zero, Chick’s Picks’ pal even came through with her own prediction when the crystal ball was in the shop for maintenance.Big Game Hunting for Week Two 2016
September 7, 2016
Friday and Saturday the MSA Sports Network has you covered with wall to wall games from week two of the WPIAL season, and hey, even if your game turns out to be not that good, at least you won’t have to watch the Pirates! Some eyebrows were raised last week and there were also a lot of “I told you so”s being thrown around the WPIAL in week one. We continue to discover who is going to rise to the top, and who is going to find themselves in a dog fight for their playoff lives here in 2016. Because for sure, some of these teams are going to show a lot more fight for their playoff lives than the aforementioned Pirates. So forget that dusty old Jolly Roger over there in the corner and let’s go Big Game Hunting!
